Conformation of a natural polyelectrolyte in semidilute solutions with no added salt†
Abstract
This manuscript embodies a comprehensive study of the conformation of a model polyelectrolyte, alginate, in solutions with no added salt. Despite extensive theoretical investigations in this field, there are only few experimental small angle scattering studies aimed at corroborating the proposed theories. Small angle X-ray scattering plots were analyzed by modeling the full q dependence. Three models were examined as a way to represent the scattering from a single chain: a model of a worm-like chain, a model of a semiflexible chain without excluded volume effects, and a model of a semiflexible chain with excluded volume effects. The electrostatic interactions between chains were accounted for by using two models. We found that incorporating a Gaussian function to the